UPDATE, Sun., 1:00pm: Still burning after 24 hours, firefighters continue their aerial attack.
An iconic building in downtown Timmins was hit by fire Saturday afternoon.
Speaking on the scene at Algonquin Boulevard and Spruce Street, Fire Chief Berny Stansa said a report of smoke was called in shortly after 1:00pm. Firefighters traced it to an apartment on the top floor of the four-storey former hotel.
“It looked like a kitchen fire over the stove, and it seems to have migrated ento the loft area, between the ceiling and the roof,” said the chief. Buildings of similar vintage often have false ceilings, make flames tricky to get to.
The chief says the 80 residents living there got out safely, and were sent to a hotel.
The building was erected in 1928 by Mascioli Construction. At about the same time, it built hotels of similar architecture in North Bay, Huntsville and Sault Ste. Marie.
Chief Stansa says the fact that flames broke through the roof does not bode well for the Timmins icon.
